Lowell Thompson Band

It's great to see a local band making some waves- especially when they deserve too. The Lowell Thompson Band plays really good alt-country with some old time rock n roll. Their cd has a pretty diverse collection of tunes, at times branching out into folk and indie-rock.
I really like the track "Crenshaw"...it conjures Red House Painters and the sk6ers.

I saw these guys live last August, and hopefully will see them again soon. Very nice show.

Links-
Official Site
Myspace
A few streams. (bad quality, sorry)

Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers

Caught these guys about two years ago on their tour with the Pat McGee Band and they were absolutely amazing live. It's good to see that they've been steadily gaining recognition, and are now on the verge of mainstream, I'd say. Still, they remain true to their indie label Everfire, almost following in O.A.R.'s footsteps...
Anyway, SK6ERs play a great alt-country style, with original, catchy melodies. To be picky, their albums are alittle overproduced for my taste, but their live show more than makes up for it. Definetly get a ticket if you can.

I'd recommend starting with their eponymus album, especially "You've Changed" and "Anthem of our Discovery"

Links-
Official Site
You've Changed Music Vid
and this kinda stuff is what makes for a great show.

American Gothic EP

Smashing Pumpkins
Time for a brief foray into mainstream alt-rock.

These are the first new Pumpkin's tracks since Zeitgeist, and I think they are much better.
It could be because this is an acoustic EP, and is therefore less overproduced, or just because I have an affinity for acoustic music.
The stripped-down tracks also make American Gothic also sound like less of a Billy-athon than Zeitgeist.
Pox has a great edgy feel, Rose March is kinda folky, Sunkissed is growing on me, and I'm not a huge fan of Again, Again, Again.
Lyrically, as far as I can tell, Corgan has gone back to his deeper, personal, and enigmatic style- much better than the abstract, politcal-pop on Zeitgeist.

Someone has uploaded the tracks as Youtube vids, so here's a link to Rose March. You should be able to link to the rest from there.

Descended Like Vultures

Rogue Wave

For their second release, and last album with SubPop, Rogue Wave releases a set of tracks ranging from grandly urgent to smoothly relaxing. There's a more orchestral aura than their first album, and the arrangements are well developed. The catchy, alt-pop vocals are, for the most part, backed up by solid, accessible lyrics. (A few exceptions, but nothing's perfect.)

For free mp3s, visit the SubPop artist page.
(10:01 and Publish My Love are from "Vultures")